The state government today asked the Centre to ban the import and transportation of duty-free raw sugar in UP.

The government has also questioned the Centre’s fair and remunerative price (FRP) regime for sugarcane and said it would ensure the payment of the state advisory price (SAP) by sugar mills to cane growers.

Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh claimed that private sugar mills had agreed to pay the SAP in spite of the announcement of a lower FRP by the Centre. “There will be no need for the state government to adopt coercive measures for ensuring the compliance of SAP by sugar mills,” he said.

“The UP government has been fixing the SAP of sugarcane since 1973-74, and this year too the government will ensure that the sugar mills accept the price of sugarcane announced by the state government,” he said.

The state government has already banned offloading of imported raw sugar. The mills plan to refine the raw sugar and sell it. “The ban on offloading of imported sugar will continue till the harvesting of the sugarcane crop is over. Otherwise, the imported sugar will have an adverse impact on the price of sugarcane,” he said. According to Shekhar, one sugar mill has stopped the onward journey of two trains loaded with imported sugar at Kandla port.

Asked whether the state will challenge the FRP in the Supreme Court, Shekhar said: “The court has, in the past, upheld the right of the state to fix the SAP, so there is no need to challenge the FRP. The government will implement the order.” FRP is a new regime for determining the price of sugarcane, adopted by the Centre from the current crushing season, he said.

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